Angel Biscuits
We were watching an old western, Bend in the River, about immigrants to the Oregon territory, and the James Stewart character kept praising the biscuits made by the women of the wagon train. Of course Barry wanted some, so I adapted a recipe that my Grandmother Whitehurst used, which is included in 'Monga Ma's Legacy: Ole-time Cooking in Georgia' by Cherry Clements, a friend of my grandmother's from Dublin, Georgia.
Makes about 18 two-inch biscuits.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon dry yeast, softened in 2 tablespoons of warm water
1 cup buttermilk, or 1 cup sweet milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar
(white or cider), warmed to room temperature
1/2 cup of margarine, e.g. one stick of I Can't Believe It's Not
Butter (you can just use butter instead)
2 1/2 cups of unbleached white flour, plus more for kneading
1 teaspoon of baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Steps:
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.
Cut margarine into flour mixture until grainy.
Add warmed milk and softened yeast. Mix well.
Knead biscuit dough in bowl for about 3 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until dough is not tacky and somewhat elastic.
Let dough rise in a warm place for about 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 oF.
Roll out dough on a floured board or pastry cloth to about 1/2 inch. Cut out 2-inch circles of dough using a cookie cutter or a glass jelly jar (more traditional). Use your hands to pat out the last couple of biscuits when you can't cut out any more.
Put dough circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with biscuits not touching for even baking..
Bake biscuits at 400 oF for about 12-16 minutes, until nicely browned on top.
These keep in the refrigerator for a week or so; just warm as many biscuits as needed in the oven at 250 oF for a few minutes before serving. Good with jam or honey.